Description

Hagiography with Gold depicting Jesus Christ Pantocrator

Christ is blessing with his right hand, while holding a closed gospel adorned with precious stones with his left one. He is wearing a tunic and a robe in the shades of blue with numerous folds. On the right and left side of the gold background we distinguish the large monograms IC, XC in purple color.

Unique work of art that is handmade by Mount Athos Monks!

The gilding of the background has been made by monks-hagiographers who live at the cell of Saint Makarii on Mount Athos with pure gold leaf. The iconographic subject of Christ blessing, with an open and rarely with a closed Gospel like in the iconography presented, is one of the traditional themes of the Byzantine and post-Byzantine art.

The symbolism of the composition determined the traditionally unchanged frontal position of Christ and the formal and strict expression of his face. The «personal» features of the paintings testify, as it seems, the specificities of the workshop in which the icon was made.